


Maybe In The Future

by DoctorFitzy (KittooningMalijah)



Series: Timey Wimey AU [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Gen, no shield au, nonsense science
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-28
Updated: 2017-03-28
Packaged: 2018-10-12 08:51:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10486962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittooningMalijah/pseuds/DoctorFitzy
Summary: Leo made a breakthrough, and there's nothing wrong with wanting to share that with his friends.





	

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: "I think that's called _science_." + FitzWard or FitzHunter

          Leo was more than a little bit excited about the idea of finally sharing his invention with some of the people he considered his friends, running through the hallways of his apartment building with a wide grin until he reached the door he was seeking. He knocked excitedly on the wood, bouncing while he waited for it to swing open. For over a year, it had been his main project, and he hadn't revealed any of it to anyone - if anyone caught wind of what he'd been working on, his entire career and all of his accomplishments could be wiped out by just one wannabe who happened to steal a brilliant idea. Which was why he was only showing it only to people he absolutely trusted.

          When the door finally opened, the Scot didn't hesitate before marching in and waving his hands while he spoke with clear excitement in his tone. "I finally did it. I've been working on it for almost a year and a half and I _finally_  got everything right! People- people are going to be talking about this for years to come - I mean, once I tell everyone, that is, but I can't do that right away because it's still in the prototype stage." He turned around with his grin still in place, meeting the very confused gazes of Grant Ward and Lance Hunter. They were the first of his neighbors to ever talk to him and, while he knew they didn't consider him as much of a friend as he might consider them, he still wanted to show _someone_  what he'd done with the space in the basement he was allowed to use. Well, allowed to use as long as he didn't blow anything up. So far, he'd followed that rule pretty easily.

          The Englishman spoke up first, staring across the small living area of the apartment from his spot on the couch. "Okay, I can't be the only one who's confused here. What are we talking about and why does it matter to us?"

          It was hard to not let himself deflate at the words and the tone, but he tried to stay upbeat and eager, even though instinct told him to not be _as_ upbeat and eager. They were his friends, but they weren't interested in the same things he was interested in or, at the very least, they weren't as enthusiastic about it as he was. And that was okay. He didn't mind that they liked video games and history documentaries more than his experiments and machines, that wasn't a problem at all, it just meant his excitement had to be _quieter_. "I... I finished my project. Kind of. I have a working prototype, now, and I'm... I... I'm really proud of it."

          There was quiet in the small space for a long moment and Leo was starting to think that it was less about not caring _as much_  and more about not caring _at all_  until the other man, whose apartment he'd actually intruded upon, finally spoke up to break the silence. "Show us." He tried to not get his hopes up, especially when he knew that science really wasn't their favorite thing in the world, but the conversation was starting to seem more promising than it had been when he first walked in. And Grant had a way of making every word seem genuine, even when they were all smart enough to see right through him. "You never show us your projects and you seem to be really excited about _something,_ soit'll probably be just as exciting when we actually get to see it. You might have to tell us about it, but that's half the fun, right?"

          With a careful nod, the engineer managed a weak smile and tried to take a slow breath so that he could speak again. "Yeah. I want to see if you can guess what it is, first, see if you even pay attention when I talk about work. But..." He was still hesitant, after the quick dismissal of his excitement before, and that much was probably clear in his tone. "If you don't want to, you don't have to let me talk about it. I know I overshare sometimes, and people don't always care very much or they get put off because I'm so excited, and-"

          "Whoa, Leo, hey." Grant shook his head quickly, offering up a much more reassuring smile than he actually needed to in that situation. It was enough to silence the Scotsman's rambling, at least, and that was the main goal. "I can't speak for Lance, but _I_ want to see it if you're willing to show it off. It _must_ be pretty cool if you're _this_ excited about it; I want to see what all the hype is about."

          The noise that left the Englishman on the other side of the room was something between a groan and a sigh. It was obvious that he didn't want to join in their trip downstairs before he even opened his mouth and that made the air seem that much heavier around them. "Fine. I guess we can take a few minutes to go see this... what did you say it was, again? Really, if it could just wait like an hour..."

          This time, Leo let his shoulders slump while he bit his tongue and took a small step back. He tried to be smaller, instinctively starting to retreat toward the door that would lead to the hallway and then his apartment. It wasn't really their area of expertise, he knew that; it was stupid to go to them in the first place - there was a number of other people that he could talk to who would understand without much extra explaining and would be just as excited as he was without him having to pester them when they were doing something else. He almost made it all the way to the door before his movement put him close enough that Grant could put a hand on his shoulder, demanding most of his attention. "Don't leave yet - we have to wait for Lance to get up off his ass so he can come downstairs with us." A pointed look was shot across the room while he was gently pulled into his taller friend's personal space. "We're recording that documentary, anyway, and we can watch it later when we have some extra time. History isn't going anywhere."

          For a long moment, the entire room seemed still and quiet, and the seconds seemed to drag on while the engineer fought to keep from shuffling in place with nerves. It really wasn't a big deal if they didn't want to see it, and he wanted to tell them so again, but he didn't have the chance to do so, once everyone had started moving. Grant was still gentle when he steered the smaller man out of the apartment and into the hallway with a softer expression, and even Lance was on his feet so that all three of them could walk alongside each other. They _seemed_  like they would humor him for a while, at the very least, and maybe that would have to be enough.

          Even in the elevator, he stayed quiet and pressed himself into the back corner, feeling somewhat comforted by the reflective walls keeping him secure in one spot. He was still eager to show them what he'd made, but it was a quieter eagerness that he confined within himself instead of letting it spill over for everyone to see. It was easier that way. They didn't have to pretend that his energy didn't bother them or interrupt what they'd rather be doing with their day.

          When the doors slid open, he was the first one out, taking off down the short hallway so that he could unlock the door on the wall and slowly push it open. A full year and more of his life had been spent on one project, and he was hoping that his friends would at least be interested in what he'd been doing with his time, but it wasn't all that easy to be optimistic when the fact that they _weren't_  all that interested was working against him, regardless of how fascinating he thought the device was. With the door to the large room he used as a lab swung wide open, it was easy to see inside, and the clunky metallic box on the table in the middle of the room came with the view.

          It was the most powerful thing he'd ever worked on, and while he knew they didn't know a single detail about it, he still hoped they were at least a little bit impressed. On the box was a set of dials and buttons, each with their own reading to control or monitor, and all in various colors based on what he'd had access to at the time. Some of the pieces were rusted or chipped or cracked, but it was all together in the arrangement he'd planned for, and he'd had it hooked up to its power source pretty much all morning so that he might be able to test it out and show it off, but that plan was all but given up when he'd resigned himself to knowing that they really didn't care as much as he'd hoped they would. Instead of the awe and murmurs he'd been hoping for, he got a very different reaction in the form of an English accent.

          "What is _that_?"

          There was almost no hesitation before he heard a response, though it wasn't quite as intellectual as he thought it would be if anyone at the lab had given it. "I think that's called _science._ "

          The scoff made Leo turn around, frowning while he shook his head quickly. If it was simply _science_  that he wanted to show them,he would have just rambled for a few minutes and then let them go on with their lives. It was so much _more_  than just science - it was _discovery_ and _innovation_ and _the biggest leap he'd ever made in his career_. It was too big to keep to himself for much longer, and there weren't many people in the world that he trusted enough to not sell this information the first chance they got. "It's _bigger_ than science."

           He could see the look they shared, the clear concern in their eyes while they looked at each other and then back at him. In a way, it made sense. He held science in the highest regard, it was more important to him than anything else in his life, and he wasn't naive enough to not know that it was why he was alone aside from the few neighbors he talked to. If something was bigger to him than just plain science, something had to be wrong.

          "I mean, you're not wrong, it _is_ science, but it's more than that, too. It's bigger than anything else I've ever worked on. This will change the world as we know it, and it's all thanks to the fact that I _finally_ found the last few things I needed for a prototype." Leo was no salesman, he wasn't good at convincing people to do things he wanted them to do, and he was even worse at trying to get Lance and Grant to actually follow what he was saying whenever he started rambling, but he was still a genius, and he knew his friends. He knew exactly how to grab their attention and keep it for at least a few minutes, and that was all he would need. "Those old war movies you're always watching, they can't all be entirely accurate, right? What if you could _be there_ and experience it all yourself? What if, instead of hoping that half of the information in some internet article is right, you could see it all and _know for sure_? This isn't just some science project that I'd turn in for a good grade or a ribbon at a fair - it's _time travel_."

          For a long moment, there was silence around them, and he almost worried that he'd read it all wrong, that he hadn't actually known the best way to get their attention and make them interested in what he'd done, but he didn't have to worry for very long. As soon as the words had the time to sink in, there was movement and excitement and noise from overlapping voices that he could barely understand if he wasn't paying close enough attention.

          "Wait, wait, like _actual_ time travel?"

          "That's a bit insane, mate."

          "You're saying that we could, potentially-"

          "Are you even sure it works?"

          "-go _anywhere_ and see _any_ time?"

          "If it works, I mean-"

          "We could meet people who have been _dead_  for hundreds of years-"

          "-that would be the _coolest_  thing-"

          "-or see the future!"

          "-anyone has ever seen in their lives."

          The Scot was grinning by the time they were actually quiet again, shaking his head and stepping over to the table so that he could fiddle with a few of the dials on his machine. It wasn't entirely safe yet, and he had to do a few more tests before even remotely considering using a live subject to try it out. He wouldn't even be trying it himself for at least a few months, and that was only if the rest of his tests went well, which wasn't a guarantee with how little knowledge there was of time there was out there. It wasn't like there was a set of rules for him to follow, he was flying blind and relying on trial and error. "Yes, that's all right, and all of that is possible, but not for a while. I still have to find a way to connect the box and the power source inside to the subject who would be riding the energy, so to speak, but this is still _cool_ , right?" He was no longer trying to hide his excitement, not when it was clear that they were actually interested now that he'd shared the idea and shown them how close it was. "I mean, this will still change the world, I just... I wanted to tell someone before I got any closer, you know? So that I won't sound completely insane when I come out and share it with everyone in a few years."

          "A few _years_?" It wasn't a surprise, to Leo, at least, that his English neighbor was the first one to voice a complaint, and he didn't have the chance to cut in and explain himself much more before the annoyed complaints went on. "No, no, Leo, this is _huge._ It needs to be used, shared - and what better way to share it than to use us as test subjects? Come on, who knows about history better than me and Grant? It could be a fun trip. You'd get to test your thing, and we'd get to see history in action. It's not cool unless you use it."

          He thought it was cool regardless of whether or not it was actually used - it was still _time travel_ , and while it would be completely irresponsible to go and change anything, observing other civilizations and ages would be fascinating. But that should still wait until it was _safe_  to do so, and not be done just because they can. "What? No, I'm not just going to turn it on because you want to take a vacation. It's _not safe_  yet. If I don't wait and perfect it, it could actually kill a lot of people - that's the _only_ reason I'm not coming out with it yet; because people will get ahold of it before it's ready and then we'll have consequences to deal with. If it was safe, I'd already be offering to take you wherever and whenever you want to go, but I _can't._ "

          "If it matters to anyone, I don't really want to be a guinea pig," Grant offered up quickly, shaking his head with a weak frown. If it was dangerous, they wouldn't do it, and that was that - or, at the very least, that was that for the majority of their little group, and democracy won out.

          With a nod, Leo took a deep breath and looked between them before glancing at his machine again. The decision had been made, and he was sticking to it. "I'll keep working on it, making it better. As soon as it's ready, you'll be the first to know, and you each get to pick a time and place to visit. Until then, we keep this quiet - no one can know until everything is _perfect_."


End file.
